Ronaldo, Carsley, Georgia winners in Europe's return to nat'l team soccer

Potential coaching upheaval, players' injuries, an underdog continuing to soaroh, and Cristiano Ronaldo stealing the spotlight once again.International soccer returned to Europe over the past week, less than two months after the conclusion of Euro 2024 , and there was plenty to take away from the first batch of games in the Nations League: Ronaldo Shines You can't keep him out of the headlines. The international break started with a certain amount of intrigue over the role Ronaldo would have with Portugal after his underwhelming displays at Euro 2024 and the fact he will be 40 years old early next year.

It ended with Ronaldo cementing his status as a continued mainstay in his national team and proof that he still has the scoring instincts to be of huge value for Portugal. Ronaldo scored against Croatia and Scotland to take his men's-record tally of international goals to 132. He started on the bench against the Scots in Lisbon and changed the game when coming on as a halftime substitute. Who knows, Ronaldo might yet make the 2026 World Cup, after all.

Carsley's Chance: Unassuming and unheralded, Lee Carsley was supposed to be simply filling in while the English Football Association looked for a permanent successor to Gareth Southgate as coach. The interim might yet be the full-time solution. Carsley certainly looked the part in leading England to smooth, routine 2-0 wins over Ireland and Finland, even if the opposition was modest at best.

Georgia Rising: Georgia was fun to watch on its major tournament debut and the feel-good story gets better. A 4-1 beating oaf the Czech Republic and then a 1-0 win in Albania lifted coach Willy Sagnol's team to the top of its group in the Nations League second tier, including Ukraine. All four went to Euro 2024.